


Get It Together, Loser

by reddie_loves



Series: It Fandom Week 2018 [3]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bev wants ben to like her, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, I tried to use them and I don't know how, Mutual Pining, Pining, i love these two, if you see this pls tell me how to use italics on here, it's sweet okay, little does she know he already does, no i'm not sorry, send help, talking with friends to figure shit out, that's enough now evie, the good straight ship, yes I wrote 8 1/2 pages for a prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 13:42:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15820038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddie_loves/pseuds/reddie_loves
Summary: Beverly never understood the girls that would gush about boys when she was younger. Their high-pitched squeals over how Joey Anderson looked playing football or Nick Monclose’s nose never interested her and were nothing more than obnoxious. With Ben she finally understands, and she could do that all day - just talk about him.But she also feels like it’s more than that....And that’s what truly encompassed Beverly Marsh, he thought. Stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking - any word to show true beauty, in and out.Would she ever feel that way back, that was the true question in Ben’s head. Because for Ben, she had been the only girl on his mind since he first saw her at thirteen.





	Get It Together, Loser

Beverly sighs once again and turns on her heel, boots clacking on the pavement. She turns again.

“Would you fucking cut it out?” Richie says, taking another inhale of his cigarette. She does not, in fact, cut it out. Bev has been pacing along the side of the school for minutes now, abandoning her own death stick practically as soon as she started it. 

He continues, “Honestly Bevvie, it’s not a big deal.”

She stops and whips her head around to glare at Richie. “Not a big deal?” she hisses. “It’s fucking embarrassing!” 

Bev had been walking with Richie to lunch, talking like normal, when all of a sudden she froze. She had stood in the cafeteria unable to focus on anything except the boy she liked, other students bustling around her, and the culprit for her actions was none other than Ben Hanscom. 

Ben, who had been her crush for months now. Richie had managed to pull her along and set their things down before making the excuse of a smoke break. She’s still mad at herself for just freezing, but how can you blame her? He just looked so good today. 

“Handsome Haystack didn’t notice, that’s why it isn’t a big deal. I think you need to chill, you’ve been pacing nonstop.”

She sighs again, bringing her hand up to massage her temples. “Everyone looked confused is all, Rich, I acted weird,” she reasons, going to lean against the brick next to Richie and sliding down until she’s sitting. 

He nudges her legs with his foot. “I just think you should tell him.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not, Richard.”

“Hey,” he protests with a frown, “no need to pull out the full name! A guy’s sensitive.” 

They sit in silence for a moment before Richie butts in with a bad British accent. “It’s just plain obvious that he likes you, open your eyes Miss Marsh!” Going on in a normal voice, “He’s fallen for you - hard.” He smirks down at her, about to make a joke.

“Don’t you dare Trashmouth,” she cuts in quickly before he can even get a word out. Bev then mulls over his previous words and makes a you’re lying face. She says, “There’s no way that that’s true.”

“Uh-huh, you’re blind to not realize it. Ask him out, he’s too scared to.” She snorts at that. 

“Sure.”

“I’m serious, he’s always got major heart eyes like you hung the goddamn stars or some poetic shit! You’re usually observant but clearly not with this Bev.” 

That’s true, she supposes. She’s usually got her options weighed out and already decided, but with Ben she doesn’t know what to do. Maybe Richie is right, but why take the chance? 

He then starts to hum Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels” and decides there’s no way she can trust him. 

She groans. Being a hormonal teenager is hard. “But I don’t wanna!” She knows that was whiny but doesn’t really care. 

“Well too bad, figure it out and stop bitching.” Richie’s clearly done listening to her and he stomps out the end of his cigarette, lifting himself off the wall. “I’m going inside, you’re welcome to follow.” 

Bev sulks for a moment before begrudgingly getting up. 

When they sit at their table inside there’s no strange stares from any of the Losers, so maybe that’s a plus. Bev doesn’t count it. 

\---

He lay on his bed, deep in thought. Thoughts of a girl with fiery red hair, sharp wit, nails never seen without multiple colors on them. A sense in fashion to make everything fit well, blue eyes you could get lost in. A girl who could counter even the Trashmouth, a girl with brains to take everyone down in the Science competition.

In other words, absolutely stunning. 

And that’s what truly encompassed Beverly Marsh, he thought. Stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking - any word to show true beauty, in and out. 

Would she ever feel that way back, that was the true question in Ben’s head. Because for Ben, she had been the only girl on his mind since he first saw her at thirteen. 

_The light of the lamppost shines on her like a spotlight, like she’s the only girl worth giving attention to. She turns to face him, eyes locking on his like a magnet. She’s grinning, happy, and he would do anything to keep her face from falling._

_He would put her in front of himself always, even if she wouldn’t._

_She takes his hand and laughs, starting to tug him away. “Come on, I told you to keep your eyes closed!” He can hear his own voice respond but it’s muffled._

_She hears him though. “Ben, it’s a secret! Be patient babe.” So he closes his eyes and grips her hand tighter, wanting to please her._

_He would follow Bev to the ends of the Earth._

Ben rests with his eyes closed, smiling subconsciously. Daydreaming about Beverly is nice. He wishes she may see him the same way, but he doesn’t want to make her unhappy by being with him. And at the end of the day, that’s what’s most important. 

It would hurt if she never loved him but he would understand. He wants nothing less than the best for her. 

\---

Bev really doesn’t think that her feelings towards Ben are just silly crushes. 

She’s been considering the whole situation a lot recently, and it has to be more than that. Then again, that’s what every teen tells themselves in all the movies - You don’t understand dad, I love him! Spoken by a fifteen year old. But you can actually fall in love as a teen, it just usually doesn’t work out? 

Or something.

This whole thing is confusing and she just wants it all figured out for her, but that’s not how life works. Bev knows that. She also knows that she doesn’t want things with Ben to simply not work out.  
He’s the only boy she can really see. When she was thirteen and naive she didn’t even think about Bill this much, who was her actual boyfriend. 

Now she’s sixteen and feels like a stereotypical middle schooler. Beverly never understood the girls that would gush about boys when she was younger. Their high-pitched squeals over how Joey Anderson looked playing football or Nick Monclose’s nose never interested her and were nothing more than obnoxious. With Ben she finally understands, and she could do that all day - just talk about him.

But she also feels like it’s more than that. She’s not obsessed over his hair, it’s a feeling that runs deeper. Sometimes she feels butterflies around him, sure, but more often than not it’s just a state of calm. Like nothing will ever hurt her if Ben’s there to be her knight. 

How could he reciprocate? There was something between them three and a half years ago, but then she got with Bill and it stopped. No reason to want her back now after she rejected him.

Sometimes she wonders what would’ve happened if they had quit the games and just gotten together back then. 

Would things be easier? 

\---

All the Losers are hanging out in Bill’s basement on a Friday night for a sleepover. They’re all cuddled together like they always do, having a Back to the Future movie marathon night, halfway through the second. 

Eddie’s practically sitting on Richie’s lap in the corner of the sofa - typical - while Mike sits at Stan’s feet next to them. Bev’s curled up with Stan to her right, Bill next to Mike on the ground. 

And that leaves Ben to sit right next to her. 

Throughout the couple hours of movies they’ve slowly shifted closer to each other. That’s certainly not an unusual thing for the rather touchy Loser’s Club, but with everything she has for Ben it’s making it hopeless to focus on the movie. 

She’s basically leaning against him, what with the almost zero room on the old couch. He’s warm and so comfortable that she closes her eyes to rest her head on his shoulder. Hopefully he doesn’t mind. 

\---

Ben’s having trouble breathing right now, because the girl he loves is asleep on his shoulder and looks adorable.

Well, he can’t see her face exactly, because then he would have to turn his head and risk waking her up. But he’s seen her sleeping before and it just makes him melt in adoration.

Everyone else is unaware of his dilemma, eyes glued to the screen. Ben wonders if he should get up in the excuse of a drink, but he wouldn’t want to wake Beverly. 

So he sits, perfectly rigid until he feels his muscles practically aching from the uncomfortableness. He can relax a little, right? His head rests against hers and he snuggles a little closer. It’ll just be until the end of the movie. 

\---

“Think we should wake the lovebirds?”

“Nuh-no, leave th-hem be, t-they’re clearly t-t-tired.”

The sounds from the movie are off, Bev notes. 

She’s drifting awake but keeps her eyes closed, unwilling to move away from the warmth against her. She feels something - or someone - leaning on her head. There’s a snort and then the unmistakable voice of Stan. “They really need to get it together,” he says. Get what together? Her and - 

Oh. Oh. The person she’s with must be Ben. Her first thought is that he’s the coziest one to be with, maybe even more so than Eddie. She immediately punches herself in the face in her mind. Get a grip, Beverly! 

Still, she acts like she’s asleep to hear Richie say, “She was complaining about it on Wednesday when we were smoking, acting like he’ll ‘never like her’.” Oh, that fucking snake. Why did she trust him? 

There’s a few laughs at his words and Mike goes, “Imagine that Ben didn’t like her. How?” He sounds very amused at her predicament, but there’s one part that really catches her eye; or rather, ears. 

_Imagine if Ben didn’t like her._

The five others awake move onto a different subject, but Beverly stays glued to those words. Then she thinks back to Richie on Wednesday. What did he say?

_It’s just obvious that he likes you._

She had disregarded his words because of his tendency to joke. Now she reevaluates. 

Why would Richie tell her something to purposely throw her off? He could be a bit much but was never cruel. Of course, he could be wrong, but now everyone seemed certain of it. 

Maybe she had to get over herself and ask him out. What could go wrong?

\---

The next morning when they’re all heading out of Bill’s she has been given plenty of time to think of what exactly could go wrong. Ben leaves with a charming smile that makes her heart question herself. The answers her brain have provided are almost all negative. 

This isn’t a fairytale. She’s not going to ask him out and he’ll sweep her off her feet, go on a romantic date and kiss under the moonlight. I mean, that sounds great but likely? No. 

She can’t fall victim to her own mind however, she’s got to have some outside help. Outside help that is namely in the face of Eddie Kaspbrak. 

When Eddie’s leaving she coincidentally goes at the same time, walking side by side in amiable silence. She passes the street she would usually take to her own place from where they’re at, and Eddie notices with a frown. 

He looks at her and questions, “You know your house is back there right?” jerking his head in the direction. 

Bev stops and turns to him, chewing her lip. “I was wondering if I could go to your house?” she asks. 

Eddie smiles, replying, “Yeah. Just let me be the one to talk to my mom.” 

“Am I too much of a slut for her still?” She winks. 

Sonia didn’t like Beverly because of all the rumours about her, but she had to slide if Eddie pleaded with her. 

He grimaces. “...Yeah.”

\---

Eddie shuts the door behind them and groans. “I’m sorry about her.”

“It’s fine.” She shrugs it off, sitting on the edge of his bed. Bev means it. She’s used to all the comments she gets. It’s kind of funny considering she’s a virgin who’s only done some chaste kisses. 

“Anyways…” Eddie drifts off, unsure of what to do. She gestures around as if saying I don’t care. “Wanna paint nails?” She nods. 

“Shoot.”

“Gotta get up first.” She hops off the bed and grabs the end of the mattress, lifting it up with Eddie. She uses her head to support it, watching him grab his polish collection - around twenty bottles - and carry them in trips to the floor. When it’s done she flops it back down ungracefully.

He’s afraid of his mother seeing the bottles because he’s a boy, and Good boys don’t wear girl’s things, Eddie-Bear! Bev cringes even thinking about her shrill voice. So, he hides them between his mattress and boxspring. All other areas would be searched, and Eddie would probably be grounded for a week. 

Some of them are stolen from her, some she purchased to give to Eddie while he paid her back, and some neither are sure where they came from. 

“Pick a color Ed.” 

\--- 

They’re chatting while doing each other’s nails when she brings up Ben. 

“I want to date Ben.” Well, that was a little blunt. Her cheeks go a bit red at the admission. 

Eddie laughs. “Took you long enough.”

She’s surprised. This isn’t the usual answer you would get from him. She puzzles, “What do you mean?” 

He stops his hand motions to stare at her quizzingly. There’s a pause when he speaks, “You guys have been so lovey for years! You just never noticed, and now you finally have.” Bev’s stunned speechless. “Thumb?” Dumbly she nods, giving Eddie her thumb. 

“It’s good to get your head out of your ass, Bevvie.” 

“Hey!” she complains, suddenly able to speak again. “My head is never in my ass! Don’t act like I don’t have the best ideas and rational thinking of all of us.” Okay, she knows that’s a far stretch from the truth - she can be a total dumbass - but still. She’s not oblivious. 

“You most definitely are not.” 

“Maybe, but I at least talk about my feelings for a certain someone.”

Eddie flushes at the comment. “We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you,” he defends. She smirks but leaves it at that. 

“So I should… go for it?”

He nods so fast that she thinks he might get whiplash. “Yes, one hundred percent.” 

\---

Bev waited all torturous weekend to talk to Ben, and it’s been about 52 hours - she’s counted alright - since she talked (see here: complained in obliviousness) to Eddie about her predicament. It’s either now or suffer longer than she has to. 

She shifts her backpack straps and continues to scan the area anxiously. The exit for the school that she’s at is the one Ben and Mike take, not her usual one with the other four boys. She hurried here as fast as she could to catch Ben even though all the Losers meet up at the same spot before leaving everyday. 

Her plan is to ask out Ben by isolating him from Mike, confess her feelings, and pray to the holy goddess above her that he doesn’t hate her. 

When she picks them out of the crowd of people, happy that Mike’s so tall, she gives a big exhale and forces herself to shuffle her feet over to them. 

“Hey Bev,” Mike greets, clearly a little confused but smiling nonetheless. “Why’re you over here today?”

She glances at Ben and then back to Mike. “I wanted to talk to Ben about something for class, if you don’t mind me breaking you up.” It’s a bad excuse and they all know it - the only class she has with Ben is the same one with Mike and Bill, and it’s laughably easy with no assigned homework that night. Still, he smiles and goes along. 

“Sure thing,” Ben says. 

Bev slides besides Ben just as Mike starts to quicken his pace. He turns around whilst walking to give a goodbye before disappearing. She saw a glimmer in his eyes, is it possible he knows?

Ben’s words take her out of her thoughts. “So,” he starts, “You and I both know that we have nothing to discuss with that class.” 

She takes a deep breath. Here goes nothing. 

“Yeah, uhh.” Her voice comes out timid, causing Ben to look at her in concern. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I was just… wondering... “ All the courage she had before is rapidly leaving her, but she knows she has to push through or else she’ll regret it. Beverly clears her throat and asks clearly this time, but a bit rushed, “Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtogooutwithme.” 

She spares a glance at Ben in her peripheral vision. He blinks a couple of times, apparently speechless. 

She tries again. “Yeah, I um. I really fuckin’ like you Ben, and I had this whole speech planned but I kinda forgot it and. Yeah. Just. I get if you don’t want to and all.” 

This seems to shake Ben out of his stupor and he stares at her, stunned. “Are you joking?”

Well that’s not the answer she was hoping for. 

Her disappointment must show on her face because he backtracks. “Shit, I don’t mean that in a bad way, Bev, I - I really like you too and I’m just kind of surprised and-” 

Bev feels like her brain is short circuiting. He likes her too? 

Fuck, she needs to respond to him. His face is red and he seems worried, and that’s not what she wants at all. 

“Ben.” He stops his rambling to boggle at her. She looks down at her shoes before facing him again. “I really mean it.”

He’s silent for a minute save for breathing and she wonders if she’s messed up. And then-

“Can I kiss you?” He quietly asks. 

She nods, a bit startled at getting this far. 

When they lean in it feels like everything’s perfect. His lips are soft, and their movements are a bit clumsy but Bev wouldn’t have it any other way. He brings his hands to cup her cheeks and she melts into the touch. 

All too soon he pulls away but only slightly, both unwilling to be apart. His eyes meeting hers with all the love in the world. She smiles back at him, eyes flickering to his lips before going up again. 

The moment that may very well be the best one of her life so far to her hazy brain is interrupted by cheers. 

The two look over, still holding each other, to see the other five Losers standing in their usual spot and hollering for their friends. Richie wolf-whistles, making Bev blush and try to bury her face in Ben’s chest. 

It was still perfect.


End file.
